Woman's body found in Maplewood preserve

Maplewood police were trying to confirm the identity of the body of a middle-age woman that was found Saturday in a creek bed in Kohlman Creek Preserve.

A man hunting for shed deer antlers spotted the body in a marshy area at 3:20 p.m., Police Chief Paul Schnell said.

He said there were no obvious signs of foul play. The body was found about 30 yards off a walking path in the preserve, which is on the southwest corner of Hazelwood Street and Beam Avenue, not far from Maplewood Mall.

The woman was fully clothed and wearing hiking boots, but no identification was found on or near her.

“There’s quite a steep embankment in that area, so it’s possible that she could have fallen and gotten into the water in this creek, and hypothermia could have gotten her quickly,” Schnell said.

He added that the woman would have had to have walked off the path to get to that embankment in a marshy area with a creek.

The condition of the body was fairly good, but it’s unclear how long it had been there. Police speculate that it could have been for some time, given that cold weather can preserve a body.

Police had no missing-person report, but they believe they may have a tentative identification, he said. They are trying to find that person’s family while awaiting autopsy results and a positive identification from the Ramsey County medical examiner’s office.

“We think it could be a woman who officers had previously dealt with in Maplewood,” he said.

“We don’t know exactly where she lives,” he added, but believe it could be in northern Ramsey County.

No vehicles that might have belonged to the woman were found in the area, the chief added.